Grain unloading and mixing vehicle



F. R. WOODARD GRAIN UNLOADING AND MIXING VEHICLE April 12, 1949.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 5, 1946 2 W. 5 a m 0,0,. h 4% mm 0% ma y MI a h 4 J fl W N I a a w Z, l I 2 April 12, 1949. F, R, MODA D 2,466,923

GRAIN UNLOADING AND MIXING VEHICLE Filed March 5, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Jimezzian FZoydQ Waadard,

Patented Apr. 12, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GRAIN UNLOADINGANDMIXING VEHICLE Floyd Richard Woodard, Webster City, Iowa ApplicationMarch 5, 1946, Serial N.-652,136t

4 Claims. (Cl. 214-83.16)

This. invention relates: to grainunloaders and mixers, and. particularlyto the portable type adapted to a vehicle, such as a wagon.

Anl'object of the invention is that the assembl is..adapted-to.beconstructed-as an integral part of arvehicle,;or it maybe fitted to anordinary wagon or truck-of standard design.

Another object of the invention is the provision ota" vehicle having anunloading elevator for unloading grain, or other materials. into bins,mills c-r-lives-tockfeedersr Stillanother object is the provision of ahorizontal conveyor for drawing the grain from the interior of thevehicle and discharging it into the elevator.

An additional objectof the invention is the provision of means forregulating the rate at which-the grain is drawn out. This regulator isin theiformiof an inverted V-shaped trough positioned above thehorizontal conveyor, and is raised andlowered to:control the grain beingunloaded.

A further object is to provide that the regulator just mentioned isutilized to relieve the horizontal conveyor from the strain of the wholeload in the vehicle bearing on it.

A 'still further object of the invention is the provision of meanswhereby the operator can control the'regulator from the normal operatorsposition on-the vehicle.

An additional object is to provide a hydraulic devicefor'operating theregulator'in the event the vehicle is-drawn by a tractor when thetractor is provided With hydraulic operating means.

Another object of the invention is the provision of power meanscarried'by the vehicle for driving the unloading and mixing mechanism.

Stillenother object is to provide means for controlling-'the-power meansfrom the vehicle operators normal position.

With'these and other objects in view, my invention consists in theconstruction, arrange-- ment, and. combination of thevarious parts ofmydevice, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter.more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is. aperspectiveview of a wagon box showing-thehorizontalconveyor for drawing the graimfrom the wagon, and regulator means-forcontrolling the passage of grain into the conveyor.

Figs 2'is..-a longitudinal vertical sectional view ottli'eyehicle;

Fig. 3' is aplanwiew of :thevehicle with the! power deviceremoved;

Fig. 4= is an end view vehicle;

Fig. 5 is a side view ofapartof. the vehiclea showing the means forshifting the power means into gear;

Fig. .6 is-a perspective view in the device shown in Fig.5. r

Fig. '7 is a side view of a part of thevehicle'- showinga'hydraulicmeans for operating-the regulating means for controlling thepassage 01- grain from the wagonbox;

Fig.8 is an. enlarged view of-itheiworm-gean: mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is-an enlarged view of thechaintake-zup on the horizontalconveyor showninFigs. land. 3; and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of of the elevator.

Referring now. in detail to the drawings,:I show a-vehicle Which. in.this instance -is.a farm. wagon inhwhich the device is more .or lessbuilt in with. the construction of the vehicle. The vehicle may,-v ofcoursejbe a truckifdesired. Ashere shown, the vehicle .includes .a.wagon box-l 2 mounted on. wheels Hi,- and .isprovided at itsforward-end; with. any. standard draft device. A- conventional operatorsseat .is. provided also at the .forward. end IE, but is omitted here forclarity. An exten sion 18 of the frameonwhich the wagon boxlis mounted.extends to the) rear .for supporting. an elevator. 20.- The wagonbox.IZ- is-provided at itst lower portion with. downwardly convergingsur-ufaces 22 formingalongitudinal. slot or opening, M inthe bottom oft'hebox. In Fig- 1 the end" gate at the forward end Iii-of the vehicle is.re-. movedshowing another inclined surface which. cooperates with thesides22 in directing'thev grain. or other material in the wagonboxto-the opening? 24. This inclined surface 26 .is omitted irom'Eigt 3.toshowmore clearly the-operatingzparts inthe wagon. Formed in the wagonconstructionbelow the opening 24 is a channel 28 runningrthe-fulllengthof the vehicle and extending to the rear thereof as indicatedrat 30."This-channel 2am-- cludes a strip, 32 .on. the bottom, and verticallyextending side pieces. BE -on either'side' of the: channel completingtheenclosure thereof. Sup-w ported in the channel is a horizontallydisposeds...- partition 'orrbearing surface tfi secureda'to-the side.pieces 34-and extendingdrom inrfrontof the lower: edge of the inclinedsurface=26 rearwardly-to'and'i beyond the rear end Bil-of" the channel;Ai'horiezontal conveyor *3!- is. positioned. in: the -channel'r from.the: rear of the of a-rock shaft'usedt the upper-end it with one runabove the partition 36, and its return run below the partition. Theconveyor 31 is secured in place on sprockets mounted on shafts and 39which are also supported by the side pieces. Fig. 9 shows a means fortaking up the chain on the conveyor 31'. The shaft 38 is journalled inside plates 40 which are mounted on fixed brackets 4! which in turn aremounted on the side pieces 34. The shaft 38 is adjustable longitudinallyby adjusting bolts 42 cooperating between side plates 40 and fixedbrackets 4|. At the forward end of the strip 32 is a door 43 forclearing out small quantities of grain that may accidentally fall underthe inclined surface 26, and for gaining access to the forward end ofthe horizontal conveyor 31.

Communicating with the rear end 30 of the channel 28 is a hopper 44which slopes downwardly to the rear and opens into the lower end of theelevator Ell. The elevator 20 is provided with the usual conveyor 46supported and operated by a lower shaft 48 and an upper shaft 59.Reference to Fig. 10 will shoW a means for tightening the conveyor ofthe elevator 20. This tightenin means includes side plates 52 in whichthe shaft 59 is mounted and bolts 54 with eyelets therein secured to theside plates 52, the bolts 54 extending through brackets 56 mounted onthe elevator frame and adjusted by nuts threaded on the bolts.

The elevator 20 is driven by a chain 58 trained over sprockets, one ofwhich is on the shaft 511 and the other on shaft 52 which is journaledin a bracket 60 secured to the frame ll! of the Vehicle. Journaled inthe bracket 60 is a stub shaft 59, positioned above the shaft 62, andprovided with a sprocket over which the chain 58 is also trained. Thestub shaft 59 is adjustably mounted in the I bracket 69 for serving as atightener for the chain 58, in a well known manner. 45 is to betightened, the stub shaft 59 is released, the conveyor is tightened byadjusting it at the upper end, and the shaft 59 again tightened. Twobeveled gears 54 are fixed on the shaft 62 and are adapted toalternately mesh with bevel gear 86 secured to the shaft 39 which wasreferred to in connection with the horizontal conveyor 31. Conventionalmeans is provided for shiftin one or the other of the gears 64 intoengagement with When the conveyor gear 66 for reversing the direction oftravel of the conveyor 45 in the elevator.

In the embodiment illustrated I have shown a power means built in withthe construction of the vehicle. This power means is shown in Fig. 4

and consists of a standard gasoline engine 68 mounted on the frame I8and having a shaft 10 with a pulley l2 secured thereto. A belt 14engages the pulley i2 and another pulley 76 secured to the shaft 39. Thebelt 14 is normally slack over the pulleys and is adapted to be broughtinto tightened engagement therewith. Operation of the shaft 39, it willbe seen, will operate both the horizontal conveyor 31 and the conveyor46 of the elevator 29.

The device for shifting the power means 68 into and out of gear is shownin Figs. 5 and 6. A belt tightener pulley 78 is rotatably mounted on anarm 89 which is mounted on the frame I8 and is biased out of engagementwith the belt 14 by a spring 82 secured to the frame [8. A link 84 hasone end secured to the arm 80 and the other end to crank arm 86 on oneend of the rock shaft 88. The rock shaft 88 extends transversely acrossthe vehicle under the frame I3 and is provided on its opposite end witha second crank arm 90.

A link 52 extends to the forward end of the vehicle and is attached toan operating lever 94 pivoted on the wagon box. The lever 94 haslatching engagement with a quadrant 96 which is also secured to thewagon box for latching the lever in different positions. The connectionof the link 82 with the crank arm 90 includes a compression spring 538reacting between the link 92 and the crank arm 90. Actuation of thelever 94 forward, operates to bring the belt tightener 18 intoengagement with the belt l4.

From the description thus far it will be seen that the vehicle includesa means for drawing the grain from the wagon box, dumping it into anelevator, and elevating it to the dumping point. It is desirable to havea control for regulating the rate at which the grain will be unloaded,aside from the speed of the conveyors. Referring now to Fig. l, I haveprovided a cover means N30 for the opening 24 in the bottom of the wagonbox. The cover means consists of an inverted V-chape device which fitsover the opening and rests on the side pieces 34 of the channel 28 whenin its lowered position. The cover means lllil is connected at fourpoints by links I92 which are connected at their other ends to crankarms Ill-3 secured to rock shafts use. The rock shafts are supported onthe upper edges of the wagon box in Ushaped brackets I08. The rockshafts I05 are provided at one end thereof with crank arms H0 and H2extending downwardly and. interconnected at their free ends by link H4which runs along the side of the wagon box. At the point where theforward end of the link 5 i4 is connected with the crank arm l 92, aflexible cable H6 is secured. This flexible cable is connected with aworm gear device indicated generally at ill (see also Fig. 8). The wormgear device includes a drum 5 l3 journaled in a bracket lZii supportedon the wagon box, and is provided with a worm gear 42.2 cooperating withworm I24. The worm shaft 5 25 is provided with a crank wheel I 28 uponcranking of which, the flexible cable HE can be drawn up rotating thecrank shafts I96 and elevating the cover means I00. The cover means HEB,being an inverted V-shaped device, can be drawn upwardly through themass of grain which is in the wagon box in spite of the weight of thegrain. The extent to which the cover means I05] is raised determines therate at which the grain from the wagon box passes into the conveyor 3?and is withdrawn thereby. This cover means Hill also serves the purposeof preventing the weight of the grain in the wagon box from resting onthe conveyor 3?, which would impose too great a load and strain on theconveyor.

In Fig. '7, I have shown an alternative means for operating the crankshafts I06 and thereby the cover means lei). It consists of ahydraulically operated device adapted to be connected with the hydraulicpower take-off on a tractor, when the vehicle is drawn by a tractorhaving such a type of power. The device includes a hydraulic cylinderI36 havin a flexible hose connection H2 which may be connected with thehydraulic power take-01f on the tractor. The hydraulic cylinder ispivotally connected to a bracket 534 on the side of the wagon box. The

cylinder H9 is provided with a piston rod 636 having a longitudinal slot138 in the outer end thereof for slidingly receiving a pin secured onthe crank arm H2. When the piston I33 is extended it rotates the crankarm I I2 and operates to raise the cover means m0. An arm M0 is providedwith one end connected at the point of connection between the cylinderI30 and the bracket I34, and extends forwardly where its opposite end ispivotally secured to a link M2. The link M2 is pivotally secured at itsopposite end on the piston I36. A tension spring I44 is connectedbetween the ends of the link I42 and a point rearwardly on the arm I49,for retracting the piston I36 and lowering the cover means I90.

The cover means I can therefore be operated by either the hydrauliccylinder I30 or the crank wheel I28 independently of the other, andwithout interference by the other. When the crank wheel I28 is operateddrawing the crank arm H2 forward the pin in the crank arm slides in theslot I38 without having any effect on the piston I36; and when the crankarm H2 is operated forwardly by the cylinder I39, the flexible cable H6slackens, eliminating any interference with the worm gear drive.

The device is also adapted for a mechanical power take-off connectionwith a tractor or other power draft implement for operating theconveyors 31 and 0B. The shaft 62, which drives the chain 58 on theelevator, can be extended forwardly to a point beyond the front of thevehicle where it can be connected with the power takeofi connection ofthe tractor. In thus adapting the operating mechanism for power take-offconnection, suitable holes are formed in the frame I8 below the inclinedSurface 22 on that side of the vehicle for extending the shaft 62therethrough. With such connection the power means 68 can be eliminatedfrom the assembly.

The foregoing description has emphasized the unloading feature of theinvention. The invention is as well adapted for mixing, which takesplace as a normal function in the unloading operation. For example, ifvarious kinds of grain, such as corn, oats and barley are put into thewagon box and placed, as much as can be, side by side longitudinally ofthe box, the total mass of grain will be withdrawn from the wagon box ina mixture made up of some of each of the different kinds of grain. Themixing operation continues as the grain tumbles down the hopper 44 intothe elevator 26, and out of the elevator into bins or feeders. Thisdevice has proved very effective for mixing different kinds of grain.

While I have referred to grain throughout the specification as being thecontents of this device, it is, of course, obvious that the device maybe used for other items as well.

Although I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of myinvention, manifestly it is susceptible of modification andrearrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scopethereof. I do not, therefore, wish to be understood as limiting thisinvention to the precise form herein disclosed, except as I may be solimited by the appended claims.

I claim as follows:

1. In a construction of the class described, a container for grain, thelower portion of the container converging downwardly forming anelongated opening for the passage of grain therethrough, single rigidcover means positioned over the opening for closing the opening, saidcover means being bodily movable vertically and being biased downwardlyby the weight of the grain in the container, rock shafts having armsextending therefrom mounted on the top of the container, links forsupporting said cover means from the free ends of said arms, and meansfor rocking the rock shafts for raising and lowering the cover means.

2. In a construction of the class described, a container for grain, thelower portion of the container converging downwardly forming anelongated opening for the passage of grain therethrough, verticallymovable cover means positioned over the opening for closing the opening,a pair of rock shafts mounted on the top of the container, each of therock shafts having a pair of arms extending therefrom, links forsupporting said cover means from the free ends of said arms, crank armssecured on one end of the rock shafts, link means interconnecting thefree ends of the crank arms, and worm gear means operating through thelast named link means for rocking the rock shafts.

3. A construction of the class described, comprising, in combination, arectangular container for grain, the lower portion of the containerconverging downwardly forming an elongated opening for the passage ofgrain therethrough, inverted V-shape, rigidly constructed cover meansfor the opening, said cover means being positioned in the interior ofthe container under the quantity of grain when the container is full,said cover means being biased downwardly under the weight of the grain,and means for raising the cover means from the opening.

4. In a portable grain unloader and mixer adapted to be drawn by draftanimals or by an implement having a hydraulic power take-off device, thecombination of a container for grain having an opening in the bottomthereof for the passage of grain therethrough, cover means posi tionedin the container over the opening and adapted to be raised off theopening and lowered thereonto, operating means mounted on the top of thecontainer for raising and lowering the cover means, and manual means andhydraulic means connected with the operating means for operating thesame, the manual means and the hydraulic means each being operablewithout interference from the other, and said hydraulic means adapted tobe connected with the hydraulic power take-0E device on the draftimplement.

FLOYD RICHARD WOODARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,497,622 Webster June 10, 19241,515,327 Barkmann et a1. Nov. 11, 1924 1,921,959 Warren Aug. 8, 19332,107,682 Wall Feb. 8, 1933 2,347,522 Stinnett Apr. 25, 1944 2,393,849WertS Jan. 29, 1946 2,411,056 Ricketts Nov. 12, 1946 2,412,121 BradshawDec. 3, 1946 2,422,268 Symonds June 17, 1947 2,431,000 Step Nov. 18,1947

